Today in Texas History: First Commuter Flight from Dallas

On this date in 1929, Delta Air Service began its first airline service, traveling from Dallas, Texas to Jackson, Mississippi. The plane traveled 427 miles in roughly 5 hours and made two stops in Monroe and Shreveport, Louisiana. The price of a trip ticket cost $90.

The aircraft was designed by Travel Air and had a single engine. The length of the plane was 31 feet and its wingspan 49 feet.The plane was designed to carry four passengers and two pilots and could hold 150 pounds of baggage. The model was recognized for its sleek design and referred to as a limousine in the air. The plane’s pain was painted black and orange. Delta’s interior included insulated, wood paneled cabins and wicker seats. Passengers also could also open the plane’s windows for ventilation.

Interestingly, Delta’s first commercial airline service began in Texas and the company also experienced two terrible accidents in Texas. On September 1, 1966, a Delta plane crashed in Texas, killing 13 passengers. The jet was carrying 107 people before crashing in a field at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Three years earlier, 137 peopled perish in another Delta plane in the same field at the same airport.

Today, in Texas, most Texans prefer Southwest Airlines to Delta, but Delta has longstanding ties to the state as Dallas served as the first departure site for Delta’s commuter airlines services.